10. Describe the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, the conflict in the Mediterranean and on the Eastern Front.

Group Members- Austin Paalz, Cody Marshall, Chris LaRosa and Nathaniel Kramer

Outline
I. Further Gains

  • Germany continues to conquer lands and moves forward with their plans
II. Rescue Mission
  • Britain sends forces to rescue the 400,000 forces trapped at Dunkirk
III. France Falls
  • Germans get past French defenses, took over France and set up a puppet government.
IV. The Battle of Britain and the Threat to Britain
  • Germans attack Britain but the RAF holds them back and the Germans eventually give up
V. The Mediterranean, the Eastern Front and the Axis Forces Attack North Africa
  • Italy attacks Britain and Egypt
VI. Britain Strikes Back
  • Britain attacks Italy and captures 130,000 Italian forces and Rommel conquers Britain in Egypt
VII. The Mediterranean, the Eastern Front and the War in the Balkans
  • Hitler tried to take land in the Mediterranean in order to have a base to attack Russia and defend from Britain.
VIII. Hitler Invades the Soviet Union
  • Hitler attacks USSR and gets to Moscow, but is forced to retreat when winter comes


I. Further Gains
May 1940- Germany conquers Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.


Soon after, the German army reaches the French coast. What was Germany's next move?
They moved North and joined with German forces in Belgium, trapping allied forces on the beaches of the city of Dunkirk.



II. Rescue Mission
Dunkirk Harbor after Germans attacked it
Dunkirk Harbor after Germans attacked it


German forces trap the British and French at Dunkirk, a French port city located close to the Belgian border.

What was the British Navy and civilians' response?
A fleet of around 850 ships sailed across the English channel to rescue the more than 400,000 troops at Dunkirk. This undertaking was known as Operation Dynamo. The fleet was first made up of ships from the Royal Navy as well as many civilian watercraft, including 35 British passenger ferries and 40 Dutch self-propelled barges. Later, the British government's Small Vessels Pool used its authority to take many small civilian craft, including tug boats, fishing trawlers, sailing barges and yachts.



III. France Falls
Charles De Gaulle
Charles De Gaulle
What happened in June 1940?

In June 1940, the Germans completed their takeover of France. Nazi soldiers were able to flank around the defensive Maginot Line, a line of fortifications built along France's eastern borders to protect from German or Italian attacks. Once they passed these defenses, the Germans easily crushed the remaining French forces, which they outnumbered two to one. On June 21, the Germans and French signed an armistice giving Germany control of France in the same railcar where the armistice ending World War One had been signed


Who was Charles de Gaulle? Where did he run the government?
Charles de Gaulle was a French military officer who, on June 5th, 1940 was appointed to the position of Minister of War. Soon after, France fell to the Germans and de Gaulle fled to England. There he set up a provisional government that attempted to unify the many French resistance movements.

What was the puppet government that Germany set up and how did the French citizens feel about it?
As the war began, France was led by Prime Minister Paul Reynaud. Once the Germans began their takeover of France, his second in command, Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain, suggested that they sign an armistice with Adolf Hitler. Reynaud refused and resigned in early June, 1940. Petain was appointed Prime Minister and immediately set to work signing an armistice with Germany. The armistice let Petain keep control of the French government, but in effect the Germans had control. They were allowed occupation of three fifths of the country, all in the Northern and Western parts of the country. The French military was reduced to 100,000 men, and France had to pay all German costs of occupation.



IV. The Battle of Britain and the Threat to Britain

Who was Winston Churchill?

Winston Churchill was the British prime minister at the time of the war. He was an incredibly strong leader who declared to Britain, "We shall never surrender!"


Germany plans to?
Germany plans to invade Britain in 1940 with their Air Force's "Luftwaffe" to bomb and to take out the Royal Air Force and then land over 250,000 troops in Britain.


To resist Germany, Britain uses what technology?
The British used technology that had a major contribution to their side. Only recently developed, radar was used and it was able to tell the number of warplanes, the speed and the direction of them. Britain was also smuggled, in the 1930s, an Enigma machine. This machine was a German decoding device so the British could understand Germany's next move and counter it.


What was the significance of the Battle of Britain?
The Battle of Britain was important that Germany could not take over Britain, rather than becoming more powerful the Germans were forced to change their strategy which was a setback for them. Britain taught everyone that Hitler's army could be stopped.


What was Hitler's reaction to British resistance?
Hitler was frustrated with British resistance and he eventually called off the attack and went to focus on the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.



V. The Mediterranean, the Eastern Front and the Axis Forces Attack North Africa
Mussolini
Mussolini


What was Mussolini's position at the beginning of the war?

Mussolini was neutral at the beginning of the war despite Italy's alliance with Germany. His first interaction in the war began in September of 1940 to help aid Hitler.

Mussolini declares war on France and Great Britain after the German victory. On September 1940, Mussolini attacks Britain and Egypt.



VI. Britain Strikes Back














December 1940
- the British attack Italy while in North Africa. This was a disaster for the italians. By February 1941, the British had gone across 500 miles of North Africa and taking 130000 Italians Prisoners.


Who was Erwin Rommel?
In 1941 Hitler stepped in to help out Italy. Hitler sent a German tank force called the Afrika Korps. Their commander was Erwin Rommel. In late March Erwin Rommel's forces attacked and caught Britain by surprise. This caused the British forces to retreat to Tobruk, Libya. Rommel was then pushed back to where he started by the British. Rommel did not give up, he returned the blow by capturing Tobruk. This was a shattering blow for the allies. This victory in North Africa earned Rommel the nickname of "Desert Fox".


In 1942, Rommel first retreats then succeeds against what country?
Rommel retreated from Britain in North Africa. After regrouping Rommel and his troops capture Toburk, thus defeating the British in a key victory against the allies.



VII. The Mediterranean, the Eastern Front and the War in the Balkans


Who does Hitler plan to attack? What other territory does Hitler attack?
Some German generals were attacking the Balkans, but Hitler was getting ready to attack the USSR in 1940. They were once his friends. To start attacking the USSR he needed to attack the Balkans to make bases in the Southeast. He wanted to take the Balkan's to make sure Britain did not stop him. These territories in the Balkan's helped Hitler build a strong base other than Germany to take the USSR. Before this Hitler had attacked Austria, Czechoslovakia, Rhineland, and Poland. He also attacked Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxenbourg before trying to attack France and gaining some of it. Before attacking all of the Balkan and Mediterranean area Hitler also attacked North Africa to get a base down there.


In April 1941, what two countries fall quickly?
Hitler first captured Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, but those captures took a while with persuasion. The attacks that took less than 17 days were the attacks were the attacks on Yugoslavia and Greece. The Nazis had a giant party in Athens after beating the Greeks.



VIII. Hitler Invades the Soviet Union


In June of 1941, was the USSR ready for a German attack?
When June 22, 1941 came and the Germans attacked in a full scale attack. They started to invade and the Soviet Union and although USSR had a big army they were not ready for a large battle. The Soviet army was not trained and the Germans pushed them back for a very long time. The Russians used an old technique to destroy all the land as they retreated.


What was the Soviets Response?
The Soviets retreated as the Germans attacked them and then they burned all the land they retreated on and used the scorched earth policy. Russians did not have very much resistance to German march and the only thing that helped them was the cold weather that forced the Germans to retreat and lose their fight.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler


Where did Germany stop and what was the result?
At first, Germany stopped at Leningrad and stopped them from speaking with all of Russia and tried to starve them. Many people died from this shortage of food, but Germany could not take it. Since that couldn't be taken Hitler went to attack Moscow and tried to take over the capital. The winter came and the Nazis went to retreat but Hitler told them to stay and not retreat. They held it through the winter, but lost many men. By the end of the winter Russia tried attack mode and Germany was in trouble. As Hitler was moving through Russia he completely trapped Russian citizens in Leningrad and they lived without very much food because Germans were bombing their food supplies.


Germany almost Captures then what happens?
Germany tries to capture Moscow and Leningrad after easily running over Russian resistance forces. The Russians did not think Hitler would attack so soon and were not prepared when he destroyed everything including all planes right on the border. Hitler sealed off Leningrad and blew up all the food supplies and played the waiting game. It didn't work and the city held strong against Germany. Then Hitler moves to Moscow and tries to attack them, but winter comes and forces Nazis to hold back and eventually retreat. If Germany had retreated they might have taken over part of Russia instead of having a full scale retreat. Hitler listened to his spiritual thoughts and went with his gut on keeping his troops in Moscow through the winter. His gut feeling in military strategy was wrong a lot and that cost him his war.






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